Between the Lines
by ElsieLorraine
Summary: At the age of twenty-one, young men were supposed to be enjoying themselves at bars. They should not be sent off to fight at wars.


_One: The Countdown_

_April 12_

_La Rousse City, Hoenn Region_

Twenty-one.

Anyone who had ever celebrated his or her twenty-first birthday would know the excitement in finally turning that age. They would have felt the ecstasy of finally being able to do anything an adult is allowed to do, granted that those things fall within the law. They'd finally have the luxury of entering into adult clubs and ordering all the drinks they could drink before completely losing their minds and waking up with no memories of the previous night and a hangover. Freedom, they'd say it was, from all the constraints they had as minors.

For many males, it was the opposite. At least it was for the past two years and a half. Their twenty-first birthdays were days of dread. Their twenty-first birthdays meant the removal of their freedom, the removal of their childlike innocence, and the removal of a happy life. Their twenty-first birthdays marked the day they'd have to leave their homes and serve their regions in war.

War. That dreadful world.

For a two and a half year, the Hoenn region, along with the Johto, Kanto, and Sinnoh regions have been involved in a war against the Unova and Kalos regions. After Unova's previously corrupt leader, Albert Rodriguez, had been booted off his presidency seat by the people of Unova, an even worse leader, Marcus McMillan, was voted in to take the presidential seat. Prior to the voting, the people of Unova knew nothing of McMillan's ultimate goal, and were later subject to his oppressive ways. His dictatorial methods and ambition to rule the world lead McMillan to conquer and defeat the Kalos region. Despite the resistance, the Kalos region fell too short, and have become subject to McMillan's rule.

Everyone else knew what was next: for McMillan to conquer the rest of the regions and take over the whole world. Because of this, the remaining four regions formed an alliance together to take McMillan down. Every able-bodied male aged twenty one to fifty-five were conscripted and taken to be part of the alliance's army.

For his twenty first birthday present, Drew Hayden received a cake, a few presents he was yet to open, and a letter from the Hoenn government. He sat on his bed as he read the letter, his eyes glaring at the piece of paper in his hand.

_Andrew Hayden,_

_Congratulations on turning twenty-one._

Drew frowned. "Congratulations" his ass. Whoever wrote the letter had some nerve to congratulate people for their twenty-first birthdays in such time. His eyebrows scrunched up as he continued to read through the empty, printed words.

_In light of your becoming an adult, you are called by the Hoenn Region Government to provide services in this war against the Unova and Kalos Region. As a member of our region, young men such as yourself are obligated to serve your home region. In saying this, we will be expecting your presence at the Slateport beach on May 28 at exactly nine in the morning. _

The ships came to Slateport every three months to collect young Hoenn men. They'd be brought to Johto for training, until they'd be deployed to different areas. Last time the ships came, it was the day after Valentine's Day. It was currently April, and that meant Drew had only a little over a month left before he had to leave.

_Failure to show up without a valid medical reason will result to imprisonment and will be named an enemy of the region. Thank you for your time. We hope to see you soon._

_Signed,_

_Daniel Fisher_

_La Rousse Mayor_

_Hoenn Region Government_

Drew sighed and fell back on his bed. He ran his hand through his hair, then covered his eyes in an attempt to escape reality. He had been expecting the day his conscription letter was to arrive. He had read a few others which were sent to same-age guys, and had already memorized the lines written on it. It was a different feeling however to read his own name on the letter. It was a heavy feeling and he felt like his heart was at his stomach rather than where it should be.

* * *

><p>"Drew?"<p>

A timid knock on Drew's bedroom door followed soon after. Three hours after reading the letter, Drew was still lying on his bed. Granted, he did fall asleep for an hour and a half or so due to mental exhaustion, but the remainder of those three hours was spent just staring up at his ceiling. Nothing was interesting there, save for maybe the stickers of glow-in-the-dark stars he had put there when he was five.

"Drew?" came the call again. This time, instead of a knock on the door, Drew heard his door creak open. He sighed. There was only one person in the world he knew would do such a thing without his permission to enter his room, or open his door.

"Hey May," Drew said blankly, his eyes never tearing away from his gaze on the ceiling.

May made her way to Drew with a concerned look on her face. Cautiously, she took a seat on Drew's bed. May had more or less known that Drew would be acting the ways he currently was. According to her Kantonese friend, Misty, their other Kantonese friend, Ash, had acted in a similar manner upon receiving his own letter a few weeks ago.

"Your mom said you'd be here," she said softly. She receive no response whatsoever, verbal or physical. It was like she was talking to a rock. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she tried again. "Happy birthday?"

That caused a reaction in the male. He turned to May with emotionless eyes.

"The best so far," Drew said venomously.

Any other time, May would have been offended with the manner Drew was speaking, but she'd expected as much. That didn't stop her, however, from recoiling ever so slightly with the harshness of his words.

"I'm sorry," Drew said as he sat up. He folded his legs so that his knees were pointed up. "I didn't mean to come off like I did. I'm just not in a good mood right now."

"I know. I understand."

With empty emerald eyes, Drew stared into May's own pair. They stayed like that for a while, until May blinked and pulled Drew into a hug. The act was no longer foreign to Drew, having established that May was indeed a touchy person and has a tendency of hugging anyone and everyone she would see and meet, him included. A decade after the two coordinators had met, Drew got his fair share of "May's death hugs" as he'd like to call it.

As a person who was not touchy at all, Drew only allowed May's death hugs to last for a fraction of a second, after which he'd untangle her arms off him. This time, he willed that she would not let go, if that meant him staying where he was for a tiny bit longer.

* * *

><p>"How long have you been in La Rousse?" Drew asked as he and May sat at Drew's living room, eating a tub of ice cream and watching a sappy movie which May picked out. It took a while, but May was finally able to coax Drew out of his room. Of course, she had Drew's Roselia to help her. (The grass pokemon had threatened to use her Magical Leaf attack if Drew didn't leave his room within ten minutes.)<p>

"About half an hour before I went into your room," May replied, her eyes not leaving the screen. "I was talking to your mom before that."

"About?"

"You." Drew smirked.

"Has there ever been a time when I wasn't the subject of your conversation with other people?" he teased. "I always seem to be the topic when it's you who's talking. Have you fallen for my charms yet?" He wiggled his eyebrows, to which May scoffed and threw a pillow at Drew's face. That did not, however, stop the light blush appearing on May's cheeks.

"You flatter yourself too much," she said as she scooped another spoonful of ice cream. "We were worried, you know."

The teasing look on Drew's face dropped into a serious one. It hasn't been an hour since he had left his bedroom where he moped, and already the topic was brought up. Feeling the awkward silence, May decided to break it, although she didn't stray away from the topic at hand.

"How much time do you have?" she asked softly.

"I have to be at Slateport on the 28th of May," Drew replied casually. "I have a month and two weeks, or something like that. Either way, I don't have a lot of time left before I have to go."

"You sound like you're about to die."

"I might as well be." Drew saw the expression on May's face fall. "I'm kidding," he deadpanned, but that changed nothing on the almost-crying expression May had on. Drew sighed and turned the television off, removing the unnecessary noise for the pair to continue their conversation. "It's my birthday today, May," he reminded. "Since you've yet to give me a birthday gift, at least grant my wish that you won't cry _at all_ today."

May blinked back her tears and shook her head.

"Speaking of birthday gifts," May said as she dug into her bag to retrieve a small box, "I meant to give this to you earlier." She handed the box to Drew who was staring on curiously.

"If this is a bracelet, May, I'm not wearing it." That earned him a kick on the thigh. Chuckling slightly, he opened the box. In it was a watch. Drew took the watch out to examine it. Just as he had suspected, his name was engraved at the back of the watch.

"_Why the heck would you give me something this expensive?"_ Drew wanted to ask. Customized watches of such caliber did not come cheap at all.

"Thank you," was what came out of his mouth. May smiled a pleased smile to his direction.

"Also," May said, "since you've only got a few weeks left before… that, I've just decided right now that I'm staying here until May 28. To keep you company."

"Who says I need company?"

"I know you enough to know that you do, even if you won't say it out loud." May took Drew's hand and the watch she had given, and put the watch on him. "Besides, I've already asked permission from my parents to stay here for a bit. Which explains the size of my bag. Plus your mom said it was a good idea too."

Drew smirked and flicked his hair. Almost a decade after the pair had met, and Drew's hair flicking habit had not died down.

"I'm surprised your dad let you live with a guy for a month. Isn't that a bit dangerous for his little princess?" Drew mocked playfully. May just rolled her eyes.

"Even if he's stationed in Hoenn, my dad understands how you're feeling, you know. He had to leave us when he got conscripted. We just consider ourselves lucky that he's been stationed here just in case someone attacks. Perks of being a gym leader, I guess." When May saw the uneasiness in Drew's face, she added, "I've travelled with guys before."

"Yes, but that was when you were ten," Drew pointed out, taking on the lighter direction to lead their conversation to. May's dad had been among the handful of Hoenn men sent back to their region as a line of defense should the war reach the region's lands. '_The lucky ones_,' many would call them. For many of the younger conscripted Hoenn men, the subject of 'the lucky ones' was quite a sensitive subject.

"Plus the guys you were with were your brother, a dense guy who knew nothing about girls, and a hormonal teenage boy who was interested in older women." May giggled a bit at Drew's descriptions of May's old travelling partners, Max, Ash, and Brock respectively. "They wouldn't do anything to you."

"And I suppose you would do something to me?"

A mischievous glint appeared in Drew's eyes sending chills down May's spine, all talks of war suddenly forgotten. In a swift movement, Drew had May with her back flat up against the couch, and his arms on either side of her

"You never know," he whispered in her ear.

While May wasn't exactly used to Drew's advances, she wouldn't say that it was the first time things like these have happened. Drew barely flirted, but when he did, May was always his target. He barely had any female acquaintances, and of those it was only May and Solidad he would consider as friends. There was no way Drew could flirt with Solidad. She was more of an older sister than anything. That left May to be the only option Drew had to releasing his hormonal young adult tendencies. May knew it was just friendly teasing, having become a lot closer over the ten years of knowing each other.

"You've got no reason to," May replied with a voice just as soft.

"Don't I?" Drew moved to pin May's hands next to her head. "I've seen you in your swimsuit, May, and I swear, that sight alone would give _any_ guy a reason to." Suddenly, May regretted ever wearing a bikini when she, Solidad, Harley, and Drew went to a beach one afternoon between their travels. Solidad at least wore a loose shirt and shorts that time.

"You're such a guy," May whined.

"Did you expect any less of me?"

The pair never got the hear what May would have replied. At the sound of a throat clearing, Drew got off and unpinned May. While May's face was practically burning red from embarrassment, Drew sat there, looking as innocent as he could in front of his mother.

"I raised you better than that," Katherine Hayden scolded. Her arms were folded across her chest. "At least I thought I did." She glared at Drew, who was still acting nonchalant as if nothing happened two minutes ago. "I was going to ask you to take May to the guest room, but I don't think I can trust you alone with her."

"Sure you can," Drew replied.

"Sure I can," Katherine said sarcastically. Apparently that was where Drew got his sarcasm from. "You couldn't even control yourself at an open family area on a couch, and I cannot even begin to imagine what you could do with a bed present and a door you could lock."

Well, that escalated quickly.

At this, Drew's ears went as red as May's face. There were only two people in the world that could deliberately embarrass Drew: Solidad and his mother.

"I'd do nothing," Drew replied, his voice as even as possible. "May's a friend. Nothing goes past teasing."

"I sure do hope so." Katherine sighed. "Go wash the dishes," she ordered. "I'll take May to the guest room."

As she saw her son's back retreating into the kitchen, the only thing Katherine could do was hold back her tears. She sincerely hoped that the war would end within that month and two weeks Drew had left.

* * *

><p><em>April 28<em>

_Pallet Town, Kanto Region_

"One month," Gary Oak said as he and his two friends ran through the ruins that were once Pallet Town. "Exactly one more month before we're actually dragged into the fighting instead of running away like this."

"Don't be too excited for that," Ash Ketchum said. "Duck!"

At his signal, the three figures hid behind a fallen building. Seconds later, a light passed where they would have been walking. Once the coast was clear, the three emerged from their hiding place and resumed their run to where they were headed.

"I don't understand why they don't just use pokemon to scan for people," Leaf Green commented.

"You should be thankful that they don't," Gary said snidely. "Using pokemon for war and killing the highest level of abuse of pokemon." His two other companions could not disagree with that notion. It was a sentiment shared with a number of other pokemone trainers like themselves. At those words, everyone just shut up. The rest of the run was completed without anyone talking.

Of the three, the war had hit Gary the hardest. As one of the most prominent buildings in the Kanto region, the Oak Laboratory was one of the first attacked. The Gyms followed soon after. While Gary, Tracy, and most of the pokemon at the Oak lab had been able to escape, Gary's grandfather, and his only living and known relative, Professor Oak wasn't. After the day of the incident, Gary had not heard of or seen his grandfather. Thinking the worst, it was assumed that the professor had died that day. And now Gary was out for revenge.

"I'm so glad you're back," Delia Ketchum said as the three friends entered the bomb shelter they now called home. She threw herself and engulfed the three in a big hug.

"We found food," Leaf said as she and the boys set their bags on the lone table where Leaf's parents were seated.

The place was small for six people, seven if Mr. Mime, who occasionally refused to enter his pokeball, counted, but it was all they had. There was only one bed, which was shared by the two mothers. The rest slept on the floor. The males, being the gentlemen they were, gave the only mattress for Leaf to use.

"Thank you, you three," Leaf's father said. While James Green was not yet at the age of fifty five, he had not been called to war due to his synthetic leg. He had lost his leg a few years earlier while working at a construction site. "Take a rest." The three nodded before cleaning up and sitting on Leaf's mattress. The older half of the bomb shelter's residents went on to prepare dinner in silence. It was tense in the shelter, and everyone was aware of the reason why. Their six-person family would soon dwindle into a four-person one.

* * *

><p>"One more month," Leaf muttered after dinner, bringing up the previous conversation.<p>

"That's one month too long," Gary said, causing Leaf's eyes to narrow.

"Gary," Ash reprimanded. "I know you're upset, and I would get why, but there's no reason to take it out on Leaf."

In the short span of two and a half years, their personalities had changed. The most evident change was seen in Gary. Prior to the attack at the laboratory, Gary was a carefree guy. Of the three, Gary had always been the level-headed, I'm-too-cool-for-that-immature-game-you're-playing guy who was occasionally sarcastic, but surprisingly smart. While he wasn't ever the Mr. Optimistic of their group, never had Gary hated the world so badly up until the supposed death of his grandfather. After being brought up by his grandfather since he was an infant, it was painful to lose Samuel Oak in such manner.

Gary sighed. He looked at Leaf, his eyes conveying his apology. Leaf nodded as a sign that she understood.

There was a time after the attack on the laboratory that Leaf wanted to confront Gary for his attitude. At that time, he was generally rude to everyone he saw. Other people had told her to "understand where Gary's coming from," which she attempted to do. Despite that, Leaf strongly believed that his grandfather's loss was not a justification of his rudeness to people. She'd confronted him about it, since she was the only one who had the guts to, which ended in a shouting match between the two. That's when Ash had to step in to get both of his friends to calm down. The day after that incident, Gary had apologized to Leaf and had promised not to let his anger get the better of him.

Leaf was always there to keep her friends in check and bring them back to earth if they strayed away. Ash had always been the peacemaker. Even though he was probably the most naive of the trio, his innocence and naivety came in handy in those moments where they were needed. To them, it had always been interesting how people with personalities so different from each other had managed to remain friends. They had their fights and rivalries, sure, but they'd always find themselves looking for and leaning on each other.

"You know," Ash said, initiating a conversation between the three, "we have to do something memorable in our last month before we set out." He looked at the other two with sadness in his eyes. "You know, just in case."

Nobody said a thing after that, but the continuation of that sentence ran through all of their minds.

_Just in case we get killed out there._

* * *

><p><em>April 29<em>

_Pallet Town, Kanto Region_

It was currently three o'clock in the morning, and it was eerily silent for people who have gotten used to the sound of bombs being dropped and pokemon attacks happening here and there. Leaf, who had suffered insomnia for a time since the war had arrived at Pallet Town, had noticed a pattern in attacks. The hour of three o'clock to four o'clock in the morning was always silent. Leaf had assumed that people had to sleep. It was either that, or people felt the need to absorb their guilt brought by wrecking towns and killing people.

Still, that hour of silence had grown to become Leaf's favorite part of the day. At least, for that hour, Leaf knew that there was nothing she had to worry about. At least for that hour, things were normal.

Turning to her side, Leaf saw her dad's sleeping face. Next to his was Gary's, and then Ash's. She glanced up to look at Delia's and her own mother's. Leaf smiled. In a world full of destruction, at least it seemed as if each of her current six-person family had a moment of peace, even if that moment happened when they were unconscious. At least it was there.

That morning, she decided the night before, was a morning she'd share with Gary and Ash. Ash had said so the night before that he had wanted to do something memorable. The least Leaf could do was to give him that request. She had to keep both Ash and Gary happy in their last few days at home. They'd need a dose of happy memories to keep them going while they were out at war.

Leaf tiptoed over to where Ash was. She nudged him, and seconds later, he stirred, although not fully awake.

"Ash, wake up," Leaf said sharply, causing the young man to open his eyes abruptly.

"What's wrong?" he said in a panicked manner, causing Leaf to feel guilty for using such a tone to wake her friend up. She scolded herself for not being too sensitive in her manner of talking.

"Nothing," she said sheepishly. "Sorry. However, it would be great if you got up."

"Why?"

"Just because."

Ash frowned. "I don't even know what time it is, but the sun isn't up yet. Let's just go back to sleep, please?" he pleaded as Leaf took his blanket away.

"Yeah, Leaf, just leave him alone," the pair heard Gary grumble. He had always been a light sleeper and it didn't come as a surprise that he'd woken up from hearing the conversation happening next to him.

"Oh good," Leaf said. "Might as well get up since you're already awake too."

"No."

Leaf rolled her eyes. "Come on, you two. Get up."

"Why?" Ash asked, repeating his earlier question. "There's nothing to do."

"We can walk around outside," Leaf suggested shrugging.

"Yes," Gary agreed sarcastically, "and get ourselves killed in the process."

"No we wouldn't. I've done it a couple of times before."

Hearing that caused both of the young men to suddenly wake up.

"You've _what_?" Gary hissed. While he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was very protective of Leaf. Having known her since they were both still in their diapers, it was only natural that he did. He looked towards Ash who wore the same expression of disbelief on his face.

"It's not dangerous at this time," Leaf said. "We can, I don't know, walk around what's left of the town. Go treasure hunting. Talk about stuff."

"Why do you think we'd want to do that?" Gary asked.

"Because I wouldn't want your last days here to be depressing," Leaf replied. "Let's have an adventure around. Like we used to do as kids."

The three sat in silence before Ash spoke up. "Can Pikachu come?"

"Sure," Leaf said grinning. She looked at Gary who rolled his eyes before standing up to retrieve his pokeballs. "Why not?"

* * *

><p><em>May 5<em>

_Frodomar City, Kanto Region_

Pokemon trainers have always been known to be resourceful, especially in events that called for absolute resourcefulness. With the mailing systems being checked for any signs of region betrayal, people began feeling the lessening of their privacy. They turned to using the small and common pokemon as their letter messengers. The trainers had made little and almost invisible pouches for their pokemon to wear and deliver messages.

"What's up, Sparky?" Ritchie asked as his Pikachu climbed to his lap. The Pikachu lifted its tail to reveal the pouch with a single letter.

_I wouldn't say I'm looking forward to seeing you on the 28__th__, but at least we're going to be there together? You, me, and Gary. _

Ritchie forced a smile. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel comforted by the fact that he wasn't going to be alone on this little "quest." While part of him wanted anyone and everyone he knew to be safe and not have to face the war head-on, another part of him was glad that he wasn't alone. Of course, he wished he didn't have to go at all, and that there was no war to start with. He just wanted to go back to having a normal life.

"Twenty three days," he murmured, scratching Sparky's ear. He looked at his mother who was, along with other women, nursing the injured soldiers. As though she felt his eyes on her, Joyce Hammond looked up and met her son's eyes. She then smiled a sad smile.

Ritchie was a string, independent young man, but it was instances like this that made him feel like a kid. All he wanted to do at that point was to run to his mother's arms and cry.

He'd leave Happy, his Butterfree, in hopes that even without him there, his mother would feel, well, happy.

* * *

><p><em>May 19<em>

_Cerulean City, Kanto Region_

While Misty Adams was not called to be conscripted because of gender, that did not mean that she had no battles to fight for herself. As one of the Gym Leaders of the Kanto region, it was her duty to help protect the city and region she was in.

As bad as it sounded, Cerulean City was happy that none of their Gym Leaders were male. At least they had the Sensational Sisters to protect them if ever fighting got too much. At least they still had the Adams sisters to defend their city.

At least there was that.

"Staryu, return," Misty said as she recalled her starfish pokemon. They had just put out the last of the fires that had started out due to a baby Charmander's panic attack from the sound of explosions. "All in a day's work," the redhead said.

She looked up at the setting sun and sighed. In the one and a half years that Kanto had been involved in the war, she had seen a number of her friends leave their hometowns. She had always been there to watch every ship of young men leave Vermillion City to Ollvine City. She'd seen Brock go. She'd seen Tracy go. She was well aware that in a week and a half, she'd see Ash, Gary, and Ritchie go. It didn't take a scientist to figure out that their birthdays fell within the February 15 to May 27 bracket.

To say she was worried about the three was an understatement. Although it didn't show so much when she was with them, Misty cared a lot about the three. She had no idea what she would feel come the date they would leave. What was worse was that she had absolutely no idea when (or if) they would come back home.

Misty had no idea how long she was standing in her spot until arms wrapped around her and pulled her out of her thoughts. Her first instinct was to push, punch, and attack whoever was holding her, but when she saw familiar blonde hair before her, she melted into the embrace.

Misty was never close to her sisters, and she felt Arceus-awfully guilty when she silently thanked the war for bringing them closer. She chastised herself, and wished that other circumstances were the reason for finally forming a bond with her older sisters.

* * *

><p><em>May 22<em>

_Pallet Town, Kanto Region_

"Ash?" Delia said, interrupting her son's conversation with Leaf. The male turned to her with a questioning look. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" He excused himself from his conversation before joining his mother at the lone table. It was difficult enough to have a private conversation in the shelter, so Delia was thankful that everyone else was tactful enough to mind their own business.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Ash asked cautiously. He could list a lot of things that were wrong, including the fact that he was going to leave in eight days, but his task was not to bring depressing things like that up with his parent. It was a very sensitive and untouched topic on both parties. However, he was well aware that a conversation about such topic was bound to happen after avoiding it for so long.

"I'm not going to pretend that I don't know that you, Leaf, and Gary sneak out in the morning," she said with a hint of a smile on her face. "You're not a silent as you think you are."

Ash panicked slightly, but the smile on his mother's face got him confused. He wasn't sure if he was being scolded for doing so or not. "Are you mad?" he asked. It brought more confusion, as well as relief, when his mother shook his head.

"I get worried of course that something would happen to the three of you while you're out there," Delia said, "but I also know that you three have a knack for adventure. I wouldn't be able to stop you three anyway."

Ash looked into his mother's eyes, trying to read her. He'd never been good at reading other people's minds, and it frustrated him that he couldn't read what his mother was actually thinking.

"Are you sure you'e not mad?" Ash said in an attempt to make sure his mother wasn't bluffing.

Delia remained silent for a while. "I just don't want anything bad to happen to you," was the reply she settled on.

"I can't promise that."

"I know." Delia took Ash's hands and ran a finger of his knuckles. "You're my little boy. I can't imagine what you're going to be up against when you leave." She said that in a whisper, an indication that she was close to tears.

"I don't want you to imagine it," Ash said in a reply with a voice equally as soft. "You'll get depressed over it. I'd rather you imagine my future when I come back. I'd finally become a Pokemon Master then." It was an empty joke, and they both knew it. However, it did not stop the smile on both of their faces. "Promise me you'll do that instead, Mom."

"I'll want you to promise something in return though," Delia said with a more confident voice. "Look after Gary, and look after yourself. To the best that you can."

"I won't let you down on that, Mom," Ash replied, sticking his pinky out. "Pinky promise!"

Delia laughed, entwining her finger in his like she had done so many times before when Ash was a lot younger. She then pulled Ash into a hug, making sure everything else left unsaid was relayed through the hug.

* * *

><p><em>May 25<em>

_Twinnleaf Town, Sinnoh Region_

"Singing here's to never growing up!" Barry Evans practically wailed as he drank another shot of whatever alcohol he could find at his house. It was three more days before he and Kenny Williams had to leave town to join other young men for war training. He was currently at his home with Kenny, his childhood friend, and Dawn Berlitz, another childhood friend. They were drowning themselves in alcohol to escape reality. Obviously it wasn't working as well as they wanted it to.

"This sucks," Dawn said, tears forming in her eyes.

"This," Kenny said, "is apparently life."

"Life doesn't have to be like this. It wasn't a few years ago!"

"I'm aware," Kenny said tiredly. "It's unfair, but there's really not much I can do about it."

Dawn stared as she watched the brunet drink another shot of alcohol.

"Aren't you scared?" she asked in a whisper. Kenny perked an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't seem like you are."

"Oh, he is," Barry said, joining in the conversation. "He's just being strong for me. And for you."

"For the two of us?" Dawn clarified.

Barry nodded. When Kenny said nothing, Barry continued. "We're trying to be a 'normal' as we can. He's the more composed one of the two of us. If he breaks down, I break down. And we know that if the two of us break down, you will too." Barry was barely ever serious, but when he was, everyone knew to take him seriously. "We can't see you cry, because if you do, it gives us another reason to not want to go. We don't want to go as it is, but the fact that neither of us is here to protect you makes us uneasy."

"If we don't go, we get thrown in prison," Kenny reminded. "We're weighing our options right now."

"And frankly," Barry continued, "we've got less than three days to decide whether or not being thrown in prison is worth it. It'll be close to you, at least, and we can break out of it if we need to."

Dawn frowned. "But," she started, but didn't continue. As selfish as it was, she was weighing the options in her head as well.

* * *

><p><em>May 26<em>

_Pallet Town, Kanto Region_

"Hey," Gary greeted when he saw Leaf sitting outside of their little shelter. The three o'clock adventures had become a ritual to the three friends, and it was not a surprise for Gary to see Leaf sitting where she was. He made his way towards her, sitting at the space next to the female.

"Hey," the brunette replied. "Up for an adventure today?" she asked for the sake of conversation. Yesterday, the had gone on a long one that it had been half past four when the three returned to their shelter, causing Leaf to panic slightly. 4:30 really wasn't so much of a stand-still anymore.

"We're leaving in two days," he replied as casually as he could, not answering the question. Behind his composed facade, Leaf was sure that she could hear him chocking back his tears. He was scared, and Leaf couldn't blame him for it. "I'll come back though," Gary continued. "I'll come back whole. I'll come back with Ash. And Ritchie. And Brock. And Tracy. I swear to the heavens though that I will come back."

Leaf smiled and made a move to grab Gary's hand. While the male was surprised by the gesture, he made no move to pull away. "And when you do, we're getting married." The pair grinned at that.

It was a childhood joke between the Pallet trio, initiated by the older people who had watched the pair grow since infancy, that Gary and Leaf would end up getting married with the way the two argued back when they were younger, up until they became young adults. Ash would, according to Gary and Leaf and the adults, fall in love with some Gym Leader who could tolerate the fact that Ash was practically ignorant about anything to do with love.

"And I'll be Gary's Best Man," Ash commented, emerging from the shelter. He joined Gary and Leaf and together, the trio watched the sun rise in comfortable silence.

"I'm serious though," Leaf said. She looked at the guys who were seated at both of her sides. "We're really holding a wedding when you two come back."

Gary chuckled. "I'd have to ask permission from you dad first though, but I doubt he'd deny me since I'd come back a hero."

"Good to see you're back to your arrogant self," Leaf commented. "Where to today?"

Ash smiled. This was as normal as life could get at this point in time.

* * *

><p><em>May 27<em>

_La Rousse City, Hoenn Region_

May and Drew sat at the playground swings, watching the sky turn orange. There was less than twenty-four hours left before Drew had to leave, and both were well aware of that fact. The month and two weeks they had together felt too short, and both were hoping that tomorrow would not come.

Abruplty, May stood up from her swing and went over to Drew. In her hand was a pokeball, which she handed to Drew. The male widened his eyes slightly.

"It's Wartortle," May said as evenly as she could. She spoke before Drew could say a word. "He might be able to help you out there."

"I can't, May," Drew said. "I need your pokemon with you. I need them here to protect you." As Drew attempted to return Wartortle's pokeball, May hid her hands behind her back and shook her head, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Drew sighed and pulled a pokeball from his belt.

"This is Roserade," Drew told May, eying his pokeball. "This is also my promise to you that I'll come back." He looked at May straight in her eyes. "I need the rest of your pokemon here to look after you when I can't," he repeated. "Plus, they're in more danger if they're out there with me."

He rose from his swing and took a step closer to May. The brunette stayed planted on her spot, turning her gaze to the ground. Boldly, and crossing all personal boundaries, Drew slipped the two pokeballs – Wartortle's and Roserade's – into May's front pocket before pulling the girl into a tight hug.

"Look after her fro me, May," Drew said, his voice cracking. "I'll be back for her."

And that was when May released the water from her eyes.

* * *

><p><em>May 27<em>

_Twinnleaf Town, Sinnoh_

"Do you think we'd ever be back together like this again?" Dawn asked as she stared up at the stars. She, along with Barry and Kenny, were lying on her roof. The two had come for an impromptu visit, mostly because it had not been an easy night for them. It was doubtful that either Kenny or Barry would fall asleep.

"Do you really want that?" Kenny asked.

"Under different circumstances, yes." Dawn looked at Kenny. "I just want the three of us to be together again."

Barry sat up and patted Dawn's head. "Don't worry, Dawn," he said in a fake optimistic voice. "I'll fine whoever will keep us apart."

That elicited hollow chuckled from the group. Barry better make sure he fine those people who keep them apart.

* * *

><p><em>May 27<em>

_Frodomar City, Kanto Region_

"Be safe out there," Ritchie's mother said as she watched her son pack his bags. Whatever she meant by "safe" Ritchie didn't know, but it was still good to hear from his mother.

He stood up from where he was kneeling and made his way over to his mother. He embraced his mother, making sure all the unsaid words were translated through the hug.

"I'll be back in two years, tops," Ritchie whispered in her hair. "I promise."

And like the moral gentleman he was, Ritchie swore to never break promises.

* * *

><p><em>Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.<em>


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